Cantina Tales
by carrotycake
Summary: Juno is tired of being cooped up in the Rogue Shadow all day long, so persuades Starkiller to go with her and get something to eat. However, nothing is ever easy when you are a known traitor and a renegade Sith apprentice, so throw in a grumpy serving droid, a lightsaber and some awkward chemistry , and trouble will never be far away. Light-hearted TFU. Juno x Starkiller pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **As always, I do not own _Star Wars _or anything related to it. Huge thanks to Theredstring for beta-ing and generally being very honest about my story! Also to liisiko for giving me some suggestions when I had writer's block. This will be a two-or-three-parter, as far as I can tell.

Reviews welcome, but constructive criticism only please - I need to know where I've gone wrong! It's meant to be light-hearted but I've tried to keep everyone as as in-character as possible, so enjoy.

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**Cantina Tales - Chapter 1**

"There's nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's like he's just vanished..."

Juno's voice trailed off as she turned round in her seat to face Starkiller, who was sitting some way behind her, making adjustments to his lightsaber. He didn't seem to have heard her. As usual. Juno sighed, and slumped back in the pilot's seat. She stared out of the _Rogue Shadow's_ viewport onto the dusty city of Pixelito, on Malastare. General Kota had been here, once, but he was long gone. Nar Shadaa had been a dead end, as well as the countless other worlds they had visited since. Juno had just spent the last few hours slicing into ship registers for this port, and she was feeling bored, grumpy and irritated. Not to mention _starving._ Her stomach gave a very loud, unhealthy rumble, as if to prove her point.

Starkiller looked up, a look of alarm on his face.

"What was that?" He sounded almost concerned, in his own guarded manner.

"My stomach," she replied, trying not to roll her eyes. "I'm kind of hungry. It's been a while since I've eaten..." her voice trailed off as she remembered what she'd sent Starkiller's droid off to do. "PROXY? How are the supplies doing?"

PROXY wandered into the cockpit, clunking metallically.

"I have been analysing the contents of the supply store for the _Rogue Shadow,_" he announced, somewhat over-dramatically. "In conclusion, 98.4% of total nourishment is unfit for human consumption. I suggest we re-stock before we depart this port."

Juno groaned.

"What do you mean, 'unfit for human consumption'?" she demanded, as her stomach gave another rumble. She needed to eat _very soon_, or someone would pay.

"Well," PROXY hesitated, "Informally, I think the term is 'off'. Or 'mouldy'."

"But..." Juno fought the urge to go and punch the droid, "How long will it take to restock?"

PROXY appeared to be doing mental calculations.

"Approximately 3.2 standard hours, Captain Eclipse. My joints are not what they used to be."

Juno slapped a hand to her forehead. The time had come for drastic measures, and she could not stand any more dehydrated ration packs. But she did have an idea. She couldn't believe she was going to say this. She turned to face Starkiller again. What on Coruscant was she thinking? _He'll turn you down. You'll be humiliated. It's a stupid idea..._

"Do you...want to go out – with me, that is - and get a bite to eat? At a cantina, I mean. With, ah, proper food. You know, because I'm hungry, and humans need to eat..." Juno realised she was babbling, and willed her mouth to stop talking. Sadly, it was on autopilot. She spent _way _too much time in her own company nowadays.

"I mean...aren't you hungry? Ever?" _No. Stupid. Stop talking now, Juno!_

Thankfully, Starkiller appeared not to notice. _Not that he ever did_, Juno reminded herself. But she was so_ hungry._

"Well, I'm going out then. On my own, if that's how you want it. I'll be back soon. Don't worry about me!" Juno moved out of the pilot's seat and made to get her jacket, only to find her way out blocked by Starkiller standing up suddenly. He looked suddenly unsure as to what he was doing, or why he had stood up. Juno raised one eyebrow, folding her arms defiantly. She had had _enough_ of his strange silences, his brusque manner, and she was _not_ going to take _any more_ of this–

"Um. I'll come with you." He had folded his arms, mimicking Juno. She blinked, attempting to hide her surprise. _Starkiller? Wow._ If she had been feeling a little more confident, she might have tried to brush him off, but at that precise moment she felt just a tiny bit intimidated by his imposing stature. _He really is all muscle, _she marvelled, before composing herself and nodding to his statement.

"All right. But...just let me do the talking, okay? No offence, but you're not exactly familiar with this sort of thing." She said it with a half-smile, but really she was deadly serious. From what she had learned over the past few months, Starkiller's idea of good conversation involved a lightsaber.

"Okay." Starkiller nodded. He punched the ramp release with his usual roughness, and left the cockpit without another word, leaving Juno mildly confused. She looked over at PROXY, perhaps hoping he could offer some advice on their brooding companion, but he just _looked_ at her, in that funny droid-way of his. Shaking her head, she followed Starkiller down the ramp, shrugging on her coat and hoping fervently that they wouldn't attract _too_ much attention. Having the Imperials turn up just as Juno was going to enjoy her first proper meal in what felt like weeks would certainly put a dampener on things.

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_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Once again, I own nothing. Reviews are always welcome! Thanks also to theredstring for reading over this for me.

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Chapter 2

The main street of Pixelito was still busy, even though Juno's chrono told her it was close to midnight. One of the drawbacks of travelling in a starship for long periods of time, she supposed, was that all sense of time seemed to be lost. She looked up at Starkiller, striding along beside her. He didn't appear to be enjoying the crowds in the least, especially when Juno was shoved accidentally into him by a hurried-looking street vendor.

"Ooft!" Juno was taken by surprise as she was knocked off-balance, colliding with Starkiller's shoulder. Starkiller immediately reacted, whipping round to face Juno's 'attacker' with a protective and very angry glare in his eyes. Juno groaned inwardly. This really wasn't the place to be starting a fight.

"Come on," she muttered, grabbing him by the crook of his elbow and steering him back towards the flashing neon signs of nearby clubs and shops. "We're going _this way._"

He flinched at her touch, and Juno immediately pulled her hand away. She threw him a funny look, but otherwise didn't say anything. She knew better than to press him when he got moody, otherwise their evening would turn out even more of a disaster than it was promising to be. Juno was starting to regret her decision to take him with her on her quest for food – _did he even eat, anyway?_ She wasn't sure if she had ever seen him eat the ship's ration packs, let alone _real food_ from a cantina. He mostly kept to himself, for all she knew about him.

It wasn't long until they reached the first tavern, an undistinguishable grey building except for the brightly coloured signs outside, advertising various foodstuffs; Juno caught her eye on one that read 'FRESH PASHI NOODLES – READY TO ORDER HERE'. A memory jerked to the front of her mind – she was six years old again, back home in Corulag, and her mother had taken her in to Curamelle, the capital city, for the day. They'd run into a garrison of stormtroopers blocking the main shopping district, so her mother had decided to distract her by stopping at a fairly run-down food vendor on a small back street. Run by an old and kindly looking Ithorian, Juno had been unsure at first – at that point she had never seen a non-human before, except in the Empire's propaganda-holos viewed in school, but the Ithorian's friendly manner and good food soon brought her round. She remembered her mother's proud smile as the vendor had served her a bowl of pashi noodles, and Juno had taken it without any hesitation or prejudice.

It was a fairly unimportant memory, and a vague one at that, but for whatever reason Juno still clung on to it, as one of the very few memories she had left of her mother. She shook her head, clearing her sentimental thoughts, and pointed to the doorway.

"In here. Oh, come on." Juno was sorely tempted to pull Starkiller into the cantina by force, as he seemed to indicate that he would be happier outside. However, after a few minutes of hushed bickering, he relented and followed her through the doorway, looking very much like he did not want to be there at all.

"For the record, I'd like to note that this was your idea," he muttered, hands in his pockets. Juno rolled her eyes, and looked around the dimly-lit cantina for a free table.

"It'll be great, I promise. Besides, you need to start living a normal life. You were holed up in that Star Destroyer for way too long. This-" she gestured to the cantina around her as they moved into a free table, "-will be good for you."

"Humph. If you say so."

Juno gave a small smile and shook her head. He _was_ ridiculous, and stubborn, and foolishly reckless at times, but she'd grown fond of him over the past few months. She often wondered if he felt the same about her, but her logical side would usually dismiss it – she wasn't here for anything other than to fly the ship, not really. _Although, _she thought, her mind drifting, _this goes above and beyond the call of duty._ She looked at Starkiller sitting across from her, arms folded, and his sour expression. He was staring resolutely ahead, as if he was determined not to enjoy himself. Juno shook her head again, and rested her chin on her hands. After a few moments of tense silence, a hassled-looking serving droid trundled over with an irritable expression – if droids could look irritable – on its mechanical face.

"Well? Whaddya want?"

Juno bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Until she had first met PROXY, she'd had no idea that droids could have such colourful identities – this droid in particular seemed to rival PROXY on the personality spectrum. She looked over at Starkiller, and was surprised to see that the corners of his mouth were upturned, very slightly. Maybe he was having the same thoughts.

"I'll have a regular serving of the fried pashi noodles, please. And he'll have the, um..." she glanced at Starkiller, knowing that she had absolutely no clue about what he liked to eat. He looked blankly back at her, shrugging slightly. She'll have to guess, then. "He'll have the nerf steak. A regular portion, please."

"Whatever. Do you want drinks with that?" After Juno's reply, the droid tapped something into its datapad. "Your orders will be with you soon. Have a nice day."

The droid left them and mooched away, pausing for a moment as if it had forgotten something. After a moment's contemplation, it shook its metallic head and creaked away.

"I wonder how long that droid's been working here? It looks ancient," grinned Juno, starting on the first light-hearted topic of conversation she could think of.

"He reminds me of PROXY," It might have been Juno's imagination, but Starkiller now sounded faintly amused, rather than morose.

"Definitely! PROXY certainly is unique." Juno paused, wanting to see how far the question led. "How long have you known him?"

Starkiller gave a non-committal shrug. "About ten years, maybe more. Can't really remember. He's sort of always been there."

The poignancy of this struck Juno for a moment. _PROXY, a droid, has been his only friend for as long as he can remember._ Juno's childhood hadn't exactly been brilliant, but she'd had friends, parents, company. He'd had nothing but solitude. Starkiller frowned at her for a moment, but said nothing. Juno decided to keep quiet. He didn't need, and certainly didn't want, her sympathy.

"So..." Starkiller seemed lost for conversation, and resorted back to his default sullen glare at nothing in particular. Juno sighed. Just a few minutes ago, she'd thought that she was getting somewhere with his mysterious demeanour. Now they were back to where they started.

Thankfully, they were interrupted by the same droid as earlier, bringing their food. It slid the plates and the drinks along the table, somehow managing to not spill a single drop of anything. Juno thanked the droid, and it turned, ready to trundle away again when it was stopped by a very large and very fearsome alien with a canine face, yellow eyes and an odd mixture of fur and scales. It bent down to the droid and muttered something unintelligible to the droid. After a few moments, when the droid appeared to refuse whatever offer the alien was making, it gave an angry growl and swiped one of its huge paws at the droid, making it clatter to the floor, metal droid parts rolling everywhere.

Juno watched in dismay as what appeared to be the droid's head rolled forlornly past their table, sparks feebly emitting from where it was connected to the rest of its body. There was an indignant uproar from several nearby tables, presumably those still waiting for food, and one angry Trandoshan expressed his fury by overthrowing his table. The table smashed into the central bar-section of the cantina, shattering glasses and bottles and sending those propping up the bar running for cover. Juno instinctively ducked under the table, feeling for the blaster stowed at her hip, and noticed Starkiller doing the same, unclipping his lightsaber. Their eyes met, and Juno felt a funny sense of déjà vu._ There _has_ to be a bar brawl the _one night_ we decide to go out to eat, _Juno thought, mentally shaking her head. Starkiller seemed to sense what she was feeling, and raised his eyebrows at her. _Your idea,_ he seemed to be suggesting. Juno glared at him.

"Perhaps it would be best if we got out of here?" She had seen her fair share of low-life, grungy cantinas to know when to take her exit. Trouble was brewing, and she was definitely not staying to see the outcome. Bringing out a lightsaber would certainly not help matters in this instance.

"I think that's probably a good ide-" Starkiller grunted, his words suddenly drowned out by the yellow-skinned alien retaliating by pulling out a large blaster and attempting to shoot at the Trandoshan who threw the table at him.

"Oh _no,_" Juno muttered, disengaging the safety setting on her blaster, just in case. She knew the table currently shielding her and Starkiller from the majority of the debris wouldn't hold out much longer - multiple objects were now being pelted from all directions. Clearly, they had walked in on two rival gangs fighting over territory, or something of the sort, as the yellow-skinned alien and the Trandoshan were now no longer the only ones throwing things and shooting.

"Okay, on my count, we should just make a run for it – we're not going to last if we stay here any longer," Starkiller had unhooked his lightsaber from his belt, and was staring resolutely at the exit, which was now their only way out. Juno nodded, and braced herself to run.

"Go!" After Starkiller's count, Juno bolted, scrambling up from the dusty floor as fast as she could. She knew she was fast – the Imperial Academy would drum that into you – but she hadn't, as of yet, been trained to deal with the smoky, dust-filled haze that met her when she stood up. Coughing, she staggered to the exit, having dropped her blaster and lost sight of Starkiller, when she found her way to the door obscured by the large, yellow-skinned alien from earlier. He bent down and grabbed her by the lapel, leering ominously. Juno couldn't help but notice the black, star-like tattoo on the alien's forearm. The alien saw her staring and shook her, aggressively.

"No, you're not going anywhere, missy. You're here as an eyewitness, as proof to show what happens when anyone interferes with our, ah, _business_." The alien shoved Juno back towards the centre of the cantina, holding her arms tightly behind her back. Out of the wreckage before her, other similarly-tattooed mobsters were approaching, cracking knuckles and shouldering their large weapons menacingly. Juno tried not to squirm, and wandered distantly where Starkiller had run off to, and, more importantly, if he was going to come back. The thought made her slightly embarrassed, as being rescued once by him was a big enough blow for her pride, but for a second time - when it was technically her fault - was just humiliating. She concentrated on these thoughts to try and escape the fear now clouding her mind. _What on Coruscant have I gotten myself into now?_

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_To be concluded..._


End file.
